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Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT): Today's Featured Electronics Laggard

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

Applied Materials (
AMAT) pushed the Electronics industry lower today making it today's featured Electronics laggard. The industry as a whole closed the day down 0.1%. By the end of trading, Applied Materials fell 10 cents (-1%) to $10.36 on light volume. Throughout the day, 9.3 million shares of Applied Materials exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 13.3 million shares. The stock ranged in price between $10.36-$10.50 after having opened the day at $10.40 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $10.46. Other companies within the Electronics industry that declined today were:
New Energy Systems Group (
NEWN), down 13.2%,
Daystar Technologies (
DSTI), down 10.5%,
Oclaro (
OCLR), down 10.3%, and
Digital Power Corporation (
DPW), down 9.7%.

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Applied Materials, Inc. provides manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, flat panel display, solar photovoltaic (PV), and related industries worldwide. Applied Materials has a market cap of $12.87 billion and is part of the technology sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 13.9, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are down 2.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday. Currently there are six analysts that rate Applied Materials a buy, two analysts rate it a sell, and eight rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Applied Materials as a
hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity.